Balanced Offense Leads USAO to Victory Over Langston

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Tuesday evening, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (5-4, 2-3 SAC) returned home to Brisco McPherson Court and snapped a two-match skid with a four-set victory against Langston University (1-11, 0-5 SAC).

The two teams traded points in the opening set, but USAO was able to outlast Langston and pushed their way to a 26-24 victory. The Drovers were able to claim a 25-20 victory in the second set, but the Lions responded with a 25-20 victory of their own in the third set. USAO jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set and used that momentum to propel themselves to a hard fought 25-23 win to wrap up the match.

As a team, USAO was efficient on offense and stellar on defense. Offensively, the Drovers put away 54 kills on a .201 attack percentage, and on defense they recorded 67 digs and four block assists. In comparison, Langston produced 43 kills on a .147 clip, and on defense they tallied 59 digs, 10 block assists, and two solo blocks. 

USAO was led by the powerful performance of Victoria Southerland. Southerland tallied 17 kills on a .263 attack percentage, in addition to a pair of aces and seven digs. Samantha Perez added nine kills on a stellar .400 attack percentage, while Gabrielle Gunnoe finished with eight kills on a .353 clip. Giselle Calderon added eight kills, followed by Yeishka Reyes with five kills and Isaline Jacqucemyn with four terminations.

Fresh off becoming the first player in program-history to record 1,000 career assists, Madison Garcia added to her stellar statistics with 24 more helpers. Additionally, Garcia contributed three kills and three digs. 

Kalaya Pierce recorded her first double-double of the season as she concluded with 17 assists and 10 digs. 

Yaiza Larrauri anchored the Drover defense with a match-high of 19 digs, in addition to a trio of assists. Soleil Trejo finished the match with 11 digs.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will now head to Ada, Okla. for a non-conference double-header against East Central University and Huston-Tillotson University. USAO will face ECU at 2:00 PM, followed by a 4:00 PM start time against HTU.

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